Christopher Oji
A police sergeant attached to Special Protection Unit (SPU), Lagos State Police Command, has stabbed Inspector Adekunle Ilesanmi Francis to death in the Oke-Ado area of the state.
The suspect, sergeant Okema Azuquo,stabbed Francis in the heat of a domestic quarrel at their rented apartment and Francis died few days after he was rushed to hospital.
The sergeant has been arrested and is under interrogation at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Panti, Yaba.
It was gathered that the policemen, who were living in a rented apartment in the Oke-Ado area, had a quarrel in their rented apartment over an undisclosed matter. Trouble started when sergeant Azuquo, returned home drunk and started chasing a man in the compound with a machete and the inspector intervened and tried to caution the sergeant.
According to a police source, the sergeant, who felt insulted that Inspector Francis allowed the man he was chasing with a cutlass to escape, descended on Francis and gave him machete cuts.
Francis was rushed to the hospital for treatment where he spent a few days before he gave up the ghost Monday morning.
A senior police officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the press, said: “I met him yesterday evening still alive but, unfortunately, I received I call just now from his brother, Ojo Adekunle, that he just passed on. The doctor also confirmed his death. I am using this medium to appeal to the Lagos State Commissioner of police, Mr. Akeem Odumosun, to do the needful and prosecute this killer sergeant that has been terrorising everyone in the vicinity.
“This kind of character should not be in the Nigeria Police. May the soul of Inspector Adekunle Ilesanmi Francis rest in peace.”
A neighbour who also spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of being hunted by the sergeant’s friends, said: “The sergeant has been a thorn on our flesh, terrorising residents, especially in our compound. It was Francis that used to challenge him. Now that he has killed his colleague and has been arrested, I think we should have peace in our area.”
Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elkana, said: “It is true that a sergeant killed an inspector. The suspect has been arrested and has been handed over to SCIID, Panti, for detailed investigation.”